What's Driving Miss Daisy

The star of the upcoming Dukes of Hazzard sounds off on rumors that refuse to die and talks about her future plans now that Newlyweds is over.

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After three seasons of Newlyweds,
we think we know more about Jessica
Simpson than we do about some of our
closest pals. And in real life, she is very
similar to the person that TV audiences
have grown to adore: gorgeous
in that prettiest-girl-in-high-school
kind of way, friendly, funny, and yes, a
tad flighty. But there are a few secrets
about herself she's been keeping to
herself…that is, until she decided to
confess them to Cosmo.

Cosmo: So much has happened
to you in the last year. How have
you changed?

Jessica: I stand on my own a lot better.
You'd figure someone who walks
around in stilettos all the time could
stand her own ground, but I think that
I just found that this year. Maybe it's
because of the success I've had. Having
people respond to my personality instead
of my talent has given me confidence.
And I'm more of a woman now.
It wasn't until recently when I went to
Baton Rouge to film The Dukes of Hazzard
that I was on my own. I didn't have
my husband, whom I depend on for a
lot of things. My mom visited the set
once in three months, and my dad visited
the set three times. For me it was
like going to college. I've definitely
become more independent.

J: My first day I was so nervous,
because I didn't know what to expect
and I was nervous about failing. I
worked with Larry Moss, an amazing
acting coach, but I only worked with
him two times because he was like
"You're a Southern girl; you've got
this. Don't worry about it." It was an
easy role because I have an accent.
If I do the Southern thing, it makes
the lines sound good.

C: How did you like hanging out
in Louisiana?

J: Louisiana was great for me because
it took me out of Hollywood and put a
lot of things into perspective for me. It
brought the down-home South back
into me, which I needed. In Baton
Rouge, I was obsessed with Wal-Mart
and Abercrombie!

C: How tough was it to get in
shape to fit into those tight
little Daisy Dukes?

J: It was pretty rough. I was in the gym
five days a week for two and a half hours
a day. I would do an hour of cardio and
then an hour and a half of weight training,
and I really had to watch my diet.
And even now that the movie is done,
I'm still not eating any sugar other than
fruit, and I put Splenda on my fruit [to
make it sweeter]. Since living in Baton
Rouge, I've also gotten into eating fish,
and I stay away from bread. To be honest,
bread constipates me, and I like to
have my daily bowel movement. I'm
going to keep this up because it's become
a lifestyle that I'm almost addicted to.

C: Is it hard to keep perspective
about weight when it's all you're
thinking about for months?

J: Oh gosh, I think that's how it is for
everybody. You're never going to look
perfect to yourself even if you might
look perfect to somebody else. The thing
I've had to learn the most is to accept
compliments and steer away from all the
negativity. I mean there were [magazine]
covers of me saying that I was
anorexic! That my ribs are sticking out!
Yeah, my ribs are sticking out. My ribs
stuck out before. I have a huge rib cage,
which is why I can hold a note out until
I'm blue in the face…because I have
such a big lung capacity.

C: So do you read the gossip
about yourself?

J: Are you kidding me? I don't read the
magazines anymore. I just look at the
pictures. I'm so over it. It's funny how
fabricated everything is. It's a joke. Yesterday
I was in the car alone, going to the
studio, and I had seven cars of paparazzi
following me. When I got out of the car,
they expected me to pose. And they don't
care that the caption [that will go with
the picture] will be a lie.

C: How do you handle all the
rumors out there about you and
Nick breaking up?

J: At first all I could think about was my
parents. Of course, everyone is calling
my mom and my dad. "Are Nick and
Jessica over?" It's weird for my family,
because they're standing in line at the
grocery store and people are coming up
to them and asking them. It sucks that
my parents are questioned about it.
People forget that I have a real life.

C: So there's no truth to the
rumors? Everything is great
between you two?

J: Everything's great. All the press that's
out there is so false. We have a great
relationship. But like any relationship, if
you don't work at it, it's not going to be
good. I'm not one to sit here and say,
"Oh, it's the Cinderella story." There are
days when your foot is swollen and your
glass slipper doesn't fit, but then you take
a water pill and, the next day, it's fine. I'm
kidding, but what I mean is that there
are good times and there are bad times.
There are times when we want to pull
each other's hair out, but it's okay. A marriage
doesn't have to be perfect, but you
can be perfect for each other.

C: You and Nick have been apart
a lot. How do you make a longdistance
relationship work?

J: There's no choice other than to manage.
It's not like if we don't see each other
then it's over. That's not even a choice.
We stood in front of our family and our
friends, and in front of God, at our wedding
and made a vow to each other, and
no matter what, we make that work. For
us, it's not talking on the phone that
keeps us connected when we're apart.
We do talk every day—he's the first person
I talk to when I wake up and the last
person I talk to before I go to bed—but
we're not good phone talkers, either of
us. We text-message, but for me, it's always
better to put it in a letter. I am the
happy-go-lucky girl who pushes back
every issue she has just to make a situation
okay, but when there's a piece of
paper in front of me, I just get it out.
C What is the hardest part about
being married?

J: Having to check in [with Nick], like
making sure it's okay to go to dinner with
my girlfriends. It's like having to call
home when you were 16 years old. I like
my girl time, and Nick definitely likes his
guy time. So the hardest part for me is
finding time for the girl time.

C: If you could do it over, would
you still make the decision to
stay a virgin before marriage?

J: Yeah. Nick's the only real relationship
and real love I've ever had. I'm
proud to say that [he's the only person
I've slept with]. I'm proud to have that
between us. And back then, I didn't
know what I was missing out on.

C: Do you think it's true that the
longer you're married, the less
sex you have?

J: I think it's true, but I don't think it
should be. It feels like something would
be wrong if you didn't care to be passionate
with the love of your life. It sucks to
even think about having to make time for
sex. Even if you have no time, you should
be in a relationship where you want to
sneak off into the closet for 30 seconds.

C: Are you happy that Newlyweds
is over now?

J: It's bittersweet. Okay, I'm ecstatic.
But Nick got a little choked up yesterday.
I'll miss our friendship with the crew the
most. They've been in our home, in our
car, and in our relationship more than
the public. But I'm not going to miss
cameras following me every second of
my life…especially this last season.

C: Is the Jessica we saw on the
show the real Jessica?

J: I'm actually very different than I
seem on the show. I'm a deep thinker,
and I'm very intuitive. I read people
like that, and I'm also a good judge of
character. The show is very real, but I
knew when the camera was on me, and
it was hard not to give the cameramen
what you know they want. I did those
Chicken of the Sea comments on purpose,
but I did those before. I've done
those my whole life. That was my way
of flirting with the boys and being a
charmer. It's a lot like Daisy Duke. She
just bats her eyes.

C: There are obviously many
things about Nick you adore.
What quality tops the list?

J What I love most about him is also
what tends to frustrate me the most: his
intensity. But when he uses that intensity
in terms of making me happy…you
can't get better than that. You feel like
whenever he holds you, he's wrapping
every single inch of himself around you.
But then the thing that drives me crazy
is that he'll be watching ESPN and be
just as intense about it!

C: What's a secret all women
should always keep from their
husbands?

J: Most girls would say "Don't tell him
that it was really you that stunk up the
room" or "Don't tell him that you sat on
the toilet for however long." But not me.
I've always gotten a kick out of saying
things like that. But there are some
things guys don't need to know. Keep
your receipts a secret, and don't tell him
you got hit on at the grocery store or that
a guy walked by and brushed up against
your ass. He'll hunt the guy down.

C: What advice did you give
Ashlee after the Saturday Night
Live lip-synching incident?

J: I know how to deal with criticism, so
I told her to sit there, take it all in, and
brush it off her shoulders, and then to
use it in her music and her performances.
And I told her she sold more albums
than I did on my first record, my second
record, and my third record. People just
want to bring you down when you're on
top. The way to stay there is knowing that
you're there for a reason.

J: There's a lot of Daisy Duke–looking
pieces, like cool shirts you can tie up. And
there's a lot of vintage-looking stuff,
like some great tweed blazers. It's
everything you would see me in. I'm
really trying not to put anything in my
line that I wouldn't wear, because I
think it's important that when a fan is
going to buy a piece of clothing because
she saw it on Newlyweds or on the red
carpet, that's what she can get.

C: What clothing does Nick think
you look sexiest in?

J: Just a tee shirt, preferably his.

C: What does he look hot in?

J: I like to see him dressed up in a nice
suit. He looks very handsome. I always
want to take it off when he puts it on.

C: Any plans to start a family in
the near future?

J: I feel like I'm just now tapping into a
new part of who I am, and I want to find
out about the rest of me before I can
feel comfortable enough to raise
another human being. It scares me
not to be there for my kids like my mom
and my dad have been there for me.
They sacrificed everything for me. I will
not have kids until I can take time off
from my career to raise them. So yeah,
it'll happen in a few years. Not anytime
soon. I'm just not ready yet.

C: What's next for you…more
albums? More movies?

J: I have a new album coming out. It
was important to me to write every song
on this album because I have so much to
say and I've never had the confidence to
say it because everybody has always been
like "Oh, that's the dumb blond." Now
that the show is over it's not like "I've hit
the top and have nowhere else to go."
My career and my life have always been
all about stepping stones. I like to work
my way up and take in every moment
and understand how I got there and be
grateful for why I'm there.